Kean Long Lim

Carbon nanofibres have high specific surface area to adsorb hydrogen on their surface and are widely investigated for hydrogen storage. Although carbon nanofibres can store a considerable amount of hydrogen, the adsorption of the latter must be conducted at cryogenic conditions. Here, MgO is proposed as a catalyst to improve the hydrogen storage performance of carbon nanofibres at room temperature because of the light weight MgO and its ability to dissociate hydrogen molecules. The magnesium oxide– carbon nanofibre (MgO–CNF) composite was prepared with polivinylpyrrolidone polymer and MgO via an electrospinner. The samples were characterised with field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and microgravimetric analysis. The MgO particles were formed on the surface and embedded inside the MgO–CNFs, thereby increasing the specific surface area. The assynthesised M...

Microwave irradiation is a simple yet effective way of altering the properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). This work studies the interactions between microwave-irradiated MWNTs and hydrogen. Effects of MWNT diameter and irradiation duration on the hydrogen-storage capacity have been investigated. We find that microwave irradiation induces damage to the MWNTs that can enhance hydrogen-storage capacity, with excessive damage being detrimental. Smaller-diameter tubes suffer less damage than larger tubes do. MWNTs with a diameter of 20–40 nm irradiated for 10 min had the highest hydrogen uptake of the samples measured, of 0.87 wt% at room temperature and under a hydrogen pressure of 3 MPa. Neutron powder-diffraction data revealed structural changes that were consistent with the insertion of hydrogen in the interstitial cavities of the microwave-irradiated MWNTs, as well as an expansion between the graphene layers of samples that were microwave irradiated. Hence, this simple treatment could be a promising solution to improve the hydrogen-storage capacities of MWNTs.

Hydrogen in metal hydrides could be one of the promising energy storage mediums to address the intermittent nature of renewable energy. To convert the hydrogen energy to electricity, the storage system has to be coupled with a fuel cells system. Hence, it is important to design a hydrogen storage system that meets the operating requirements for a fuel cell system. In this work, the effects of partial substitution of both cerium and aluminum on the hydrogenation properties of La(0.65−x)CexCa1.03Mg1.32Ni(9−y)Aly alloys were investigated simultaneously using factorial design. Both Ce and Al additions greatly improved the reversibility of hydrogen storage capacity. However, the maximum hydrogen storage capacity and absorption kinetics can be reduced by the additions. As Ce and Al gave opposite effects on the absorption and desorption plateaus, they could be used to tune the properties of the alloys to the desired operating conditions for fuel cell applications.

One of the possible solutions to provide electricity to a remote area community is to build a self-sustaining power generation system by harvesting the renewable energy. However, the intermittent nature of renewable energy has become a key issue to be solved in order to guarantee an uninterrupted power supply at all times. Hence, this chapter discusses briefly the different types of energy storage systems and highlights batteries as one of the most promising and flexible options to be used in remote area power supply (RAPS) systems. An outline of the typical components in a RAPS system and the present status with regard to batteries currently used in existing RAPS systems is included in the chapter. In addition, this chapter explores the benefits and disadvantages of other potential battery systems and emerging energy storage technologies (e.g., hydrogen) that could be used for the RAPS systems. The choice of batteries to be used in such systems will be dependent on several factors, including cost, ease of maintenance, product longevity, and storage capability